The Cleveland Guardians might not have the most expensive payroll or the most prominent stars in the game. What they do have is one of the most proficient farm systems in all of professional baseball. Considering that, it’s not much of a surprise to hear that they might have two of the leading candidates to win Rookie of the Year honors next season.
According to a report by Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana could turn plenty of heads next season:
“In addition to the Red Sox, the Tigers (Max Clark, McGonigle), Guardians (Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana) and A’s (Jamie Arnold, Leo De Vries) all had multiple vote-getters. It was the Athletics who finished 1-2 in the AL ROY voting in ’25, with Jacob Wilson (who got multiple survey votes a year ago) right behind Kurtz,” Mayo wrote.
Truth be told, this isn’t shocking by any means. We’re talking about two stellar prospects.
DeLauter has dominated at every single level of baseball he’s played. He’s so talented that Stephen Vogt even turned to him in the playoffs when he needed some offense.
He became just the sixth player in MLB history to make his debut in the postseason. That speaks volumes about the level of confidence the front office and the coaching staff have in him.
On the downside, he has yet to prove that he can stay healthy. As talented as he is, availability is sometimes the best of abilities. That should continue to be a concern for him.
Bazzana, on the other hand, is a former No. 1 pick, and for very good reasons. The game comes naturally to him, and he was trending in the right direction before he sustained an injury that changed the team’s plans for him last season.
He should still be given as many opportunities to play and succeed as he can handle. Even though the team has a logjam at second base and shortstop, he’s clearly the future of the organization at the position. Bazzana still needs to clear some hurdles in his development to get the nod and make it to the show.
But once he gets his legs back under him and gets a taste of Major League Baseball, it’s hard to think the Guardians will get him off the field at any point.
NEXT: Guardians Urged To Make Big Move For Power-Hitting Free Agent
